• The Petroleum Training Institute warns Africa’s oil reserves could lose value amid the energy transition.

• The continent’s dependence on foreign technology limits its capacity for low-carbon extraction.

• Experts urge more investment in local innovation and regional cooperation in oil research.

If Africa does not rapidly close its technological gap, the 125 billion barrels of oil contained in its subsoil could become “stranded assets,” meaning resources with no exploitable economic value. The warning comes from the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI), a Nigerian public institution specializing in technical and professional training in the oil and gas sector.

On October 20, PTI Director Samuel Onoji said these resources risk losing their economic value as the world accelerates its transition to low-carbon energy. According to him, the challenge is no longer the volume of crude available but Africa’s ability to extract it cleanly, efficiently, and at a competitive cost. Without this, the reserves could remain untapped.

This warning comes as Africa, despite its vast oil reserves, still relies heavily on foreign companies for exploration, production, and refining. Technical institutes like PTI lack sufficient investment to train enough engineers capable of developing low-emission extraction and processing technologies.

Citing Ghana as an example, a study published in February 2025 in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (Nature Group) found that local content policies in the oil sector have yet to result in meaningful technology transfers. The authors noted that “there is little concrete evidence showing how skill and technology needs are effectively addressed,” echoing PTI’s concern about the continent’s persistent technological dependence.

This dependency increases Africa’s vulnerability as global investment in fossil fuels declines and multinational firms redirect capital to more profitable regions. The Climate Action Tracker already warned in 2022 about the risk of stranded fossil assets in Africa.

In a June interview with Anadolu Agency, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, Secretary General of the African Petroleum Producers Organization (APPO), warned that African producers risk being gradually excluded from global markets if they fail to reduce emissions or make use of associated gas.

To avoid this outcome, experts are calling for a surge in local innovation. They recommend strengthening African petroleum research centers, creating regional synergies among countries such as Nigeria, Angola, and Gabon, and integrating digital technologies into production operations.

Abdel-Latif Boureima